Stencils are a great tool for disseminating your
revolutionary
message, but the resultant image tends to look sorta
crummy. They all seem to use the same type of font, and
certain letters (like “O” and “B”) require ugly “bridges” to
hold the center piece in place.
What if you could print
your own stencil, and you could use
any design you wanted? Now you can, with this “simple”
process!
First, you load the special prefabricated board, which
consists
of a layer of copper backed by adhesive plastic. The copper
is
pre-coated with etch-resistant ink. The printer deposits a
chemical that dissolves etch-resist. After the board comes
out
of the printer, you simply wipe the dissolved etch-resist off
the board, leaving the rest of it in place.
Then, you dunk the copper board into a bath of ferric
chloride, dissolving the exposed copper. After that's done
and
you've cleaned off the excess solvent, you apply an
adhesive
felt pad (with its own plastic backing) to the exposed side
of
the copper board, and peel off the plastic backing.
And, as they say in France, viola*! You now have a stencil
stamp that you can apply ink to the surface of. Simply wipe
the excess ink off the copper, and apply it to your favorite
t-
shirt, building, small child, politician, or what have you.
*Well, in French orchestras, anyway.